ABC's "Once Upon a Time" Hits Series Highs in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34

Facing strong sports-led competition on the evening from another high-rated Sunday Night Football contest (Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers) and Fox's NFL-overrun (NY Giants-Patriots) fueled lineup, ABC achieved Sunday season highs in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

More than tripling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8pm (+236%) and gaining audience throughout its broadcast opposite Sunday Night Football and Fox' NFL-overrun driven animated comedies (Simpsons/Allen Gregory), Once Upon a Time made ABC the #1 non-sports net in its time period for the 3rd week in a row. From 8-9pm, ABC self starter Once Upon a Time beat out CBS' Amazing Race by 42% and Fox's football-fueled comedies by an impressive 28% among Adults 18-49. The new drama series won its time slot outright over Sunday Night Football with key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

· The new ABC drama stood as Sunday's #1 non-sports program among Adults 18-49 and the highest-rated show overall with Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

· Once Upon a Time generated substantial year-over-year gains for ABC in the hour, improving its slot by more than 2.0 million viewers and by 48% in Adults 18-49 from the year-ago night.

· ABC's Once Upon a Time marked series highs with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, growing by 6% and 12% week to week, respectively. The broad-appealing ABC Studios drama was also up week to week with Kids 2-11 (+13%).

...more to come.

Quick Take for Sunday, November 6, 2011 (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

Opposite Big Sports Competition, ABC Hits a Sunday Season High in Adults 18-34

More than Tripling its Lead-in and Gaining Audience Throughout its Broadcast, "Once Upon a Time" Finishes as Sunday's No. 1 Non-Sports Show in Adults 18-49

"Once Upon a Time" Produces Series Highs with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34

Growing Week to Week, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" Tallies its Strongest Results in 5 Weeks with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34

ABC's "Pan Am" Beats CBS' "CSI: Miami" by a Wide Margin in Adults 18-34

Sunday Night (7:00-11:00 p.m.)

Facing strong sports-led competition on the evening from another high-rated "Sunday Night Football" contest (Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers) on NBC and Fox's NFL-overrun (NY Giants-Patriots) fueled lineup, ABC achieved Sunday season highs for the 2nd week running with Adults 18-34 (2.0/5) and Women 18-34 (2.8/7).

"Once Upon a Time" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

More than tripling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 8:00 p.m. (+236% - 3.7/9 vs. 1.1/3) and gaining audience throughout its broadcast opposite "Sunday Night Football" and Fox' NFL-overrun driven animated comedies ("The Simpsons"/"Allen Gregory"), "Once Upon a Time" made ABC the No. 1 non-sports net in its time period for the 3rd week in a row. From 8:00-9:00 p.m., ABC self starter "Once Upon a Time" (3.7/9) beat out CBS' "Amazing Race" by 42% (2.6/6) and Fox's football-fueled comedies by an impressive 28% (2.9/7) among Adults 18-49. The new drama series won its time slot outright over "Sunday Night Football" with key Women: W18-34 (4.6/12) and W18-49 (5.0/12).

· The new ABC drama stood as Sunday's No. 1 non-sports program among Adults 18-49 (tied w/"The Simpsons") and the highest-rated series overall with Women 18-34 and Women 18-49.

· "Once Upon a Time" generated substantial year-over-year gains for ABC in the hour, improving its slot by more than 2.0 million viewers (11.4 million vs. 9.3 million) and by 48% in Adults 18-49 (3.7/9 vs. 2.5/6) from the year-ago night ("Home Edition").

· ABC's "Once Upon a Time" marked series highs with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34, building by 6% and 12% week to week, respectively. The broad-appealing Disney-owned drama was also up week to week with Kids 2-11 (+13%).

"Desperate Housewives" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

During the 9 o'clock hour, ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (2.8/6) finished No. 2 to "Sunday Night Football" among Adults 18-49, defeating competing drama "The Good Wife" by 33% (2.1/5) and leading CBS in the hour for the 7th week running.

· Growing week to week with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34 (3rd straight telecast of growth), ABC's "Desperate Housewives" posted its highest ratings in 5 weeks on both counts - since 10/2/11.

"Pan Am" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Pan Am" outdelivered its drama competition by wide margins among key demos, leading CBS' "CSI: Miami" by 27% with Adults 18-34 (1.4/4 vs. 1.1/3) and by 46% with Women 18-34 (1.9/5 vs. 1.3/3).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 43% currently, from 38% at the same point in 2010. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 11/06/11.